Surgical dilator



H. PEGAITAZ. SURGICAL nILAToII. APPLICATION FILED IuLY I3, |920.

1,43 3,03 1 a Patente Oct. 24, 1922.,

Patented Oct. 24, 1922.

iam garant estates.

HENRI PEGAITAZ, OF GRANGES, SWITZERLAND.

SURGICAL DILATOR.

Application led July 13,

To all whom t may concern.'

Be it known that I, HENRI PEGAITAZ, a citizen of the Swiss Confederation, and resident of Granges, `Canton of Soleure, Switzerland, have invented a certain new and useful Improvement in Surgical Dilators, of

which the following' is a specilicatien.

There is employed in surgery for the progressive dilation ,of certain organs of the human body a series of pointed rods of increasing` diameter which are introduced successively into the organ to be dilated. These successive operations have the disadvantage of being often the occasion of the introduction of infectious germs within the organs under treatment.

lDilaters of vegetable origin which are introduced in a dry and sterilized condition into the organs to be dilated and which swell in absorbing the secretions of the organs themselves cannot be employed for the dilation of large openings and in addition do not swell regularly. The swelling of the ends of the vegetable dilater, ends which from their transverse section are better suited to absorb the secretions above referred to increase more in diameter than the remainder of the dilater so that the extraction thereof is always painful.,

The subject of the present invention is a v surgical dilater by means of which it is possible to obtain a relatively very large diameter of opening by means of a. single manipulation by the introduction of a single instrument which offers thus as compared with the rods referred to above, a great advantage.

The dilation obtained is regular and paralle] and superior in effect to that obtained by .means of vegetable dilators.

One embodiment of the dilater in accordance with the invention is illustrated in the annexed drawing, in which Figure 1 is a transverse sectional view of a dilater taken on line 1--1 of Fig. 2, the upper half of this view showing the prisms of the dilater extended and the lower half showing the same collapsed. Fig. 2 shows the dilater in longitudinal section in closed position and Fig. 3 is a similar section with the .1nstrument open.

Referring to the drawing a, is a rod about which are grouped sixteen prisms b, the bases b of which have the form of a sector of a circle. These prisms are provided at each end with pivot members c provided 1920. Serial N0. 396,011.

with pivotally mounted axes b2 and :onnected by means of links l to pivot members c, o2 the one set being provided in a. meniber c held at the end of the rod by means of a cap e screwed over the end of the latter, the others in a sliding member f through which passes the end of the rod opposite that carrying the member e to which the segments are connected. bers c may turn through a certain angle about their axes b2.

The sliding member f is hollow and is threaded on its inner surface. lt contains a conical spring f which bears at its one end on the bottom of the sliding member and at the other on a plate g secured to the rod a. By means of a wing nut h the plate g may be caused to approach the bottom of the sliding member and compress the spring f. In this position all the prisms touch one another and lit closely to the rod o as shown on the lower half of Figure l and in Figure 2. The instrument is introduced in this form into the opening in the organ to be dilated. The prisms are provided at each of their ends with a iixed pivot c' through the medium of which they are connected in pairs by means of a link Z.

lVhen the spring f is allowed te act on the platetg and cause the sliding member te approach the end of the rod to which the prisms are connected, these latter swing about the pivot members c and assume the position shown in the upper half of Fig. l. While the prisms are separated from the rod the centres of the xed pivots i are moved on two straight lines parallel to the plane of contact of the prisms when they touch the rod. When the instrument is in the position shown in Fig. 3 the sides of the prisms form a prism, the base of which is a regular Octagon having as its longitudinal axis the axis of the rod.

The instrument is employed as follows:

After the nut 7L is screwed towards the bottom of the sliding member f in such manner as to compress the spring f and causes all the prisms to approach the rod, the instrument is introduced within the opening to be dilated. The nut 7L is'then unscrewed and the spring left free to act en the plate g. This causes the sliding member to approach slightly the end of the rod to which the prisms are connected and to separate the latter from the rod. The action of the spring will be proportionate to the resistance These pivot memof the tissues to be separated and to the time for which the process of dilation is to be continued. In cases of urgency to dilate the organ rapidly there will be screwed on the rod after the nut L has been completely removed the ring le by means of which the rod may be pulled while the slide is held. The great advantage of the instrument described, which may be made of very small dimensions, 6 to 8 mm., in diameter around the prisms, is the ease with which it can be sterilized before use. It produces a regular dilation and its extraction, since all the generatrices ol its surface are parallel, `is knot painlul.

The members 0 and c2 may be formed, the lirst set in the material ot the head the other in that ol the sliding member. certain purposes, as for intestinal dilations ior example, the spring, the plate g and the nut [L might be removed from the sliding member, and then there may be iitted to the box the sheath ot a Bowden cable, the in ner portion ot which will be connected to the rod a.

The instrument may be operated by means of the tree end yoit the cable. This arrangement will permit the introduction of the instrument Within organs which cannot be easily reached.

y The Bowden cable could also be replaced by a rigid tube within which a rod would move. Y

llllhat I claim is l. A surgical dilator comprising in combination a ro-da a plurality olf prisms grouped radially about said rod, the base ot each of said prisms having its surl ce curved in the torni of a sector of a circle, links connecting said prisms in pairs, arms connecting the prisms with the rod, a sliding member movable on the rod, and arms connecting the prisms and said sliding member, substantially as and tor the purpose set forth.

2. A, surgical dilator comprising in com bination a rod, a plurality of prisms grouped radially about said rod, the base oi' each of said prisms having its surfacecurved in the form oit a sector oi a circle, links connecting For iaaacsi said prisms in pairs, arms connecting the prisms with said rod, a hollow sliding member movable on the rod, a plate mounted on the rod within the sliding member,a spring interposed between said plate and the base oi' the sliding member, and arms connecting the prisms and said sliding member substantially as and for the purpose set forth.

3. A surgical dilator comprising in combination a rod, a plurality of prisms grouped radially about said rod, the base of each of said prisms having its surface curved in the 'form oit' a sector of a circle, links connecting said prisms in pairs, arms connecting the prisms with said rod, a. hollow sliding inember movable on said rod, a plate mounted yon said rod within said sliding member, a

`members and pivotally connected to said links, means connecting the radially movable members in pairs for causing turning movement of the radially movable members during radial movement of said members, and means for moving said rod and slidable member relatively to one another to cause radial movement of the radial movable members.

5. A dilator ot the kind deiined by claim 4t in which the radially movable members are ot substantially prism shape, the base suriface ol each'o'f said prisms being curved in the form of a segment oft a curve.

(3. A dilator ol the kind deiined by claim l in which the last mentioned Vmeans includes a resilient member cooperating with .faid rod and slidalile member.

ln testimony whereol" l have signed my name to this specification.

inn. imam riadarraz. 

